Josh Barr's Recruiting Insider

Music to their ears in College Park?

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:29:44 -0500

No doubt there's a smile or two in the halls of Comcast Center after this morning's report that Terrelle Woody allegedly broke multiple NCAA rules at South Florida. All sorts of stuff about Woody's relationship with former Maryland player (who never played in a game) Gus Gilchrist and how Woody allegedly oversaw workouts and training sessions and drove Gilchrist around. It wasn't exactly pleasant for Maryland when Gilchrist transferred to South Florida, so this news surely won't disappoint the folks in College Park.

DeMatha lineman makes pick

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:56:04 -0500

Nope, not tackle Arie Kouandjio, who told me earlier this week he had yet to narrow down his college choices, though I suspect Cal and Alabama are near the top of his list. Not guard Shane Johnson or Kouandjio's younger brother Cyrus, a junior who starts at the other tackle and holds 15 scholarship offers. Center Jake Geiser, who is 6 feet 3 and 270 pounds, has committed to play for Delaware. I'm thinking there will be plenty of developments in the recruiting of DeMatha seniors after Saturday's WCAC title game against Good Counsel

A Friendship forms with Eastern Michigan?

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:59:41 -0500

Proving that who you know is as important as what you know, Friendship Collegiate's senior class has received plenty of interest from, of all places, Eastern Michigan, which isn't exactly a household name to D.C. recruits. Knights Coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim reports that lineman Earl Johnson has an offer from Eastern Michigan, as well as New Mexico and Hampton. Linebacker Tyrone Armstrong also has an offer from Eastern Michigan, in addition to Maine and New Hampshire (with Central Michigan, Connecticut, New Mexico, Villanova and Richmond also in pursuit). Eastern Michigan (along with Hampton) has also offered linebacker Kennedy Ogbonna. In addition, defensive back Jaron Gillespie, who graduated from Friendship last June, is a freshman at Eastern Michigan. So what's the deal? Well, Abdul-Rahim played defensive back at San Diego State in the late-1990's. His position coach during his junior year there was Ron English - who is in his first season

Hairston signs with Duke, Ross will wait

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:36:45 -0500

Stopped by Montrose Christian on Monday afternoon and saw All-Met forward Josh Hairston sign his National Letter-of-Intent and scholarship papers with Duke. No surprise there. Of more interest, however, All-Met guard Terrence Ross, who committed to Maryland over the summer, will not sign during the early period that ends Wednesday. "He's going to wait until the spring," Montrose Christian Coach Stu Vetter said, adding that Ross remains committed to Maryland and that academically he could have signed this week had he chosen. It begs the question, why did Ross not join the rest of the senior class who had accepted basketball scholarship offers and finalize his college plans? Surely, Maryland would have preferred that Ross sign, thereby reducing the possibility that he could change his mind.

Woodson's Russell making travel plans

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:18:18 -0500

H.D. Woodson senior wide receiver Alonzo Russell is getting set to book his official visits, according to Warriors assistant coach Wayne Johnson. Russell will take visits to West Virginia, Illinois and Connecticut after the Warriors complete their season in the Turkey Bowl on Thanksgiving. The 6-foot-4 Russell really came on this season, working wonderfully with Woodson quarterback Ricardo Young, who plans to sign with Virginia Tech. Russell has 55 catches for 1,047 yards and nine touchdowns. He was nearly unstoppable in the Warriors' 26-7 victory over Dunbar last Saturday in the DCIAA semifinals. Not only did Russell catch seven passes for 146 yards, including touchdowns of 82 and 19 yards, but he also used his height well to get what seemed to be everything thrown his way. He'll have a good test in the Turkey Bowl against Ballou's strong secondary of Larry Pinkard, Daray Crawford and Cory Queen.

Send us your best rushing TDs

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:11:40 -0500

Do you have video of your favorite high school team in action? We want to see it. Starting this week, we'll be featuring highlights you upload right here. This week, we're looking for great rushing touchdowns from the 2009 season. Click here to watch and upload the videos.

Was All-Met too old to play?

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:53:12 -0500

The whispers circled the Beltway and then some last winter as opposing coaches wondered just how old was Mouphtaou Yarou, then a senior at Montrose Christian. Apparently, they aren't the only ones. Seems that a Web site for a tournament run by basketball's international sanctioning body once listed Yarou with a 1984 birthdate, which would make him 25 now. Villanova's compliance department tells The Sporting News it isn't concerned, but I'll bet that might change now that this is in a public forum. If the Washington Nationals and other major league teams can get duped by foreign players "adjusting" their birth dates, I don't think high schools stand much of a chance against those who try to deceive.

Brown busts out, more offers to come?

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:55:36 -0500

Charles Brown had a career day Saturday, rushing for 343 yards and four touchdowns in St. John's 35-34 loss to Gonzaga. Making the performance more impressive was that even though Gonzaga knew Brown would be getting the ball most of the time, the Eagles still couldn't stop the 5-foot-11, 195-pound senior. Brown currently holds scholarship offers from New Mexico, Akron and Miami of Ohio. But Cadets Coach Joe Patterson hopes that things will pick up for Brown now that the season is over; one rival coach in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference said that he sees Brown ending up somewhere in the Atlantic Coast Conference. "People are concerned about his top-end speed, but he's a playmaker," Patterson said, noting that Brown's best 40-yard dash times last summer were in the 4.5 second range.

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Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:55:36 -0500

Niagara nabs another local

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:56:19 -0500

Colleague Mark Giannotto has this report: Just got a call from Mount Vernon boys' basketball coach Alfonso Smith concerning star player Skylar Jones. A first-team all-region selection as a junior last year, Jones will officially sign with Niagara University this Wednesday. He picked the Buffalo school over Mount St. Mary's, Robert Morris, Quinnipiac, and UNC-Greensboro. Jones is a 6-foot-3 forward who averaged 19 points and nine rebounds last season as Mount Vernon made it all the way to the Northern Region semifinals.

Walkersville guard picks New Hampshire

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:12:37 -0500

Walkersville hoops coach Ryan Burkey reports that shooting guard Scott Morris has committed to play for New Hampshire. The 6-foot-2 senior is entering his fourth seasons on the Lions' varsity squad and averaged 18.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 6.3 assists and two steals per game last season. New Hampshire Coach Bill Herrion offered Morris a scholarship last month and Morris committed while on his official visit this past weekend. Burkey noted that Morris is a straight A student and ranks No. 1 in his class academically.

Coolidge guard joins the A&T rush

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:54:45 -0500

Coolidge senior point guard Jeremy Underwood is joining the Washington contingent heading down to North Carolina A&T. Underwood committed to the Aggies after taking his official visit over the weekend, according to Coolidge Coach Vaughn Jones. Underwood averaged 10.6 points per game last season, after transferring from Paul VI, and made a team-high 42 three-pointers for the 18-8 Colts. Jones said Underwood carries a 3.75 grade-point average, has qualified academically, and also held offers from Vermont, Cornell and Lafayette. "They love that Jeremy can shoot and handle the ball," Jones said. "It's really going to work out for him there." Underwood will be accompanied in the Aggies' 2010 recruiting class by DeMatha shooting guard Justin Black. Last year, they brought in two other D.C. products - McNamara forward Lawrence Smith and St. Mary's Ryken guard R.J. Buck. Sophomore guard Marc Hill is a McNamara product, as well. Jones said he

Terps snag a defensive lineman

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:17:37 -0500

Just got the word from Wise Coach DaLawn Parrish, who reports defensive end Rahsaan Moore has committed to play for Maryland. Moore is the second Wise senior to commit to the Terps, joining safety Titus Till, who pledged after last season. Moore, who is 6 feet 2 and 235 pounds, had been waiting to see whether Maryland would offer. He racked up several other offers, though none were from schools in BCS conferences. He missed the Pumas' previous two games because of a high ankle sprain but came back in a 35-0 victory over Bowie this past Saturday as Wise set a state public school record with its eighth consecutive shutout.

Terps, Cavs chasing Gonzaga quarterback

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:13:12 -0500

It was a busy weekend for Gonzaga quarterback Kevin Hogan, even though the junior sat out the Eagles' 37-7 loss to No. 7 Good Counsel on Friday because of a sprained throwing hand. On Saturday, Hogan was in Charlottesville for the Virginia-Duke game. During warm-ups, while talking to Anthony Poindexter and some other Cavaliers assistant coaches, Coach Al Groh came over and made Hogan his first scholarship offer. "I was hopeful, but I wasn't really expecting it," said Hogan, who has passed for 1,455 yards and 15 touchdowns this season. Then, on Sunday, Hogan called Maryland offensive coordinator James Franklin, who also offered Hogan a scholarship. Franklin had been at Gonzaga on Friday and watched some film on Hogan, then attended the Gonzaga-Good Counsel game even though Hogan was held out as a precaution; the Eagles play St. John's on Saturday with the winner advancing to the Washington Catholic Athletic

Tabannah adds New Mexico offer

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:36:13 -0500

Potomac (Md.) defensive back Devonta Tabannah picked up a scholarship offer from New Mexico on Monday. "I talked to [New Mexico Coach Mike] Locksley and then he talked to Tabannah," Potomac Coach Chris Davidson said. "That's a real good offer. Now he has Akron and New Mexico as [division I-A] offers. I expect this will drum up other offers from other people." Tabannah, who is 5 feet 11 and 175 pounds was injured early in the first quarter of the Wolverines 20-2 victory over Central on Oct. 17 and sat out this past week's 53-0 victory over Crossland. Offensively this season, playing a variety of positions, he has passed for 496 yards, rushed for 335 yards, caught five passes for 55 yards and scored three touchdowns. Tabannah could play Saturday against No. 11 Gwynn Park, Davidson said, but it is likely the Wolverines will be cautious as they prepare for

Iowa recruit Coker sits out one more

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:56:32 -0500

Iowa recruit Marcus Coker sat out No. 1 DeMatha's 35-7 victory over O'Connell on Saturday because of a pulled groin muscle. Coker also missed the second half of the Stags' 37-7 victory over St. John's the previous week, but CoachBill McGregor thinks his star is close to returning. Don't be surprised, though, if Coker sits one more game or plays a more limited role Saturday at Carroll (2-6) before DeMatha finishes its regular season against No. 14 Bishop McNamara with the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference playoffs awaiting. "He could have probably played" against O'Connell, McGregor said. "But we decided not to. A twinge or so wasn't worth it. ... I'm going to see how he is [this week] and make sure he is 100 percent. I could play him for a little bit or split time with him and other guys."